A (Not So) Quick Trip To Helen

On Sunday, while driving home from our trip to Atlanta for Jessa’s Graduation Party (which was really GREAT), Steve and I were talking while he was driving. Somehow the conversation turned to Mom and Dad and the Aunts being in Helen. Steve suggested that I should drive over and spend the night. When I asked how far away Helen was from our house, Steve replied that it was only about 2 ½ or 3 hours. This sounded like a GREAT PLAN to me!!!

When we got home I called the ‘rents and made the arrangements. Then on Monday I got on Mapquest and checked out the facts. (Yes, I know I should have done the fact-checking first…..but it’s a little late for that now!!!)

My first Mapquest search showed it would take me almost 5 hours to drive to Helen from Lancaster. When I e-mailed this information to Steve at work, he told me he didn’t think that was right….(Of course he knows more than Mapquest, right????)

I then went outside and brought my GPS in and plugged the address into it. The directions were VERY different from those I got from Mapquest. (Mapquest said to travel NORTH from our home and Garmin said to travel SOUTH from our home.)

Being EXTREMELY directionally challenged, this was cause for GREAT concern on my part. I had no idea what to do. I’m the kinda girl that just turns on the GPS and follows blindly. If I wind up in Wyoming I figure I must have taken a wrong turn….it couldn’t be the GPS!!!

Anyway, the GPS said it would take just shy of 4 hours to get there. I liked this info much better than the Mapquest estimate of 5 hours!!

So, on Tuesday I set off at 8:00 AM for my 4-hour trip to Helen. Much of the trip was on back roads. Of course any road warriors out there know that back roads can be a recipe for disaster. I was delayed by construction twice, stopped by an intersection crash once and one time traffic stopped due to a tractor having fallen off the edge of the roadway and rolling over into a field. Long story short, it took me about 4 ½ hours to get to Helen.

I was so happy to make it there all by myself (along with my trusty GPS). As we ate lunch we caught up on everyone’s lives.

After lunch we went to Cleveland to visit Babyland General (birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids). Most of us have been to Babyland General before and I must say, it is looking very tired and worn out. The good news is that a new home is currently under construction and expected to be completed in August. I always enjoy a visit to the cabbage patch. When a new baby was delivered (“Mama cabbage is now 10 leaves dilated….”) the nurse asked for people to name the new baby girl and she was given THREE names. That was a new twist for me!!!

When everyone had their fill of the cute little critters, we headed back to the condo in Helen and fixed dinner. We spent the rest of the evening just visiting and resting up. (I’ll let dad blog about the condo itself. I’m sure he’s got more inside info than I do.)

In the morning after everyone had breakfast we went into Helen and walked around for a while. We had lunch in town and then went back to the condo so I could begin my journey home.

The trip home was EXTREMELY uneventful. No construction, no car crashes and no tractors falling off the side of the road. I made it home in just under 4 hours. THAT was really nice. I didn’t have to stop for gas or anything else, so it was just a straight shot. I had to put the top up about half way home because I was starting to feel cooked in the hot sun.

All in all it was a great trip. I was very glad to see the aunts (and mom and dad, of course). I know the rest of the Atlanta clan will get to see them this weekend. I’m sure they will regale you with stories of their exploits in the mountains. Don’t forget to ask them about the stairs leading up to their condo unit…….That will start the groans and stories, I’m sure.

Here are the folks as we arrived at Babyland General in Cleveland:

....And a bit of nostalgia for those who haven't been to Babyland General in a while:

Until next time…..


…….Love to all…..

So, it's been a while.......

........Since I blogged! No news there!!


We all say “I haven’t blogged because I have nothing to blog about”, *OR* “I haven’t blogged because I’ve been so busy…”. Well, folks, here’s the truth:


I haven’t blogged because I’ve been too lazy!!!! Them’s the facts, folks!!


So, here’s what’s been going on with the South Carolina contingent of the family:


Early in May we went to Texas for a visit. We had a really great time. Katie already blogged about the trip here, so I’ll just give you a few of the highlights from my perspective:

We had so much fun playing with Maddy and (literally) watching a new tooth show up in her mouth EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! ;)

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Buffalo Gap Historic Site. Thank goodness Katie shared some photos from that trip because I forgot my camera!! (What sort of grandparent am I????)

For some reason, Steve decided we couldn't make a trip to Texas without coming home with some real, authentic cowboy boots, so we each got a pair. I've always heard that cowboy boots are some of the most comfortable footwear you can have. I must agree with that assessment. Here's a view of what we bought:

Steve's Boots:

Peg's Boots:

Pretty snazzy, huh??? Now we'll have to learn how to do the "Boot Scoot Boogie"!!! LOL

Also, while we were in Texas we celebrated a wonderful Mother's Day. Steve and Bryan took care of all the meals for the day and Katie and I ate like QUEENS!! It was really nice.

I got a great gift from Katie, Bryan and Maddy. It was something I asked them for and then promptly forgot I did, so it was a GREAT surprise as well! They gave me copies of some photos Bryan took of the Nashville skyline. I took some similar photos and lost them on my old computer before I had the chance to print and frame them. Of course, Bryan is a much better photographer than I am, so I was thrilled that he chose to share his pictures with me!! I'm going to hang them in the room off the den in our downstairs. I've already dubbed this "The Nashville Room". (I sure hope we don't get transferred too many more times. I'm running out of rooms to decorate after cities we've lived in!!! Ha Ha Ha)

We were home less than a week when we took a trip to Nashville to visit Chris and April. The real reason for our visit was to celebrate Chris's birthday. It was a very nice, quiet and laid back visit. We went out to eat too many times and Chris and April kept us very well fed while we were there. Since we were only there for the weekend I didn't get to visit with my friends at the City of Brentwood, but we did meet up with our dear friend, Danny, for dinner on Saturday evening.

Since we got home from Nashville I've made two more trips to Landsford Canal State Park to try and get pictures of the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies in bloom. The first time I went the flowers were in full bloom, but it was so windy that they were all facing away from the shore and I couldn't get a good "full face" photo. The second time I went, it was almost too late. So, I've resorted to the internet and "borrowed" a copy of a really great photo of one of these georgous blooms. They really are quite beautiful:

This past Saturday we took a long and scenic drive to Mocksville, NC. This town is in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. The Yadkin Valley is known for its great wines. We went to an open house at the RayLen winery. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful location with live music and lots of fun. The drive was about 2 1/2 hours each way, but we put the top down on my car and just enjoyed a really fantastic day.

On Sunday we took a little ride on the motorcycle. We rode to the State Park I mentioned above and took some photos, then headed back home. As I said before, I wasn't able to get any good pictures of the flowers, but I got a couple of good ones of some wildlife:

A Blue Heron

A great big turtle sunning himself on a rock!!

I also saw something quite interesting on my nature walk. After I took photos of the flowers, I was going back down the trail toward the parking lot to go home. I heard someone approaching me from the rear and he quickly overtook me and continued on ahead. I can't believe I was clear-headed enough to snap his photo. So many thoughts were going through my head when I saw him, but most of all, "Now where did I park my kayak???"

He had absolutely everything he needed to go kayaking (the shoes, the paddle, the boat skirt) EXCEPT THE BOAT!!!!!! I was quite amused by this scene.

I guess I'll leave you with that thought (Where's the boat???).....

I hope to overcome my laziness and blog more often, but I'm making no promises.

Mom and Dad, have a great trip to Helen!! Give the Aunts a big hug and a kiss for me.

Everyone else, I'll see you all this weekend at Jessica's graduation party!!!!

Love to all......